In the context of the present invention, one can broadly refer to "sheets", to the extent that it is understood that the term "sheet" is intended to cover a variety of items, including cards, documents, checks, film, and so forth, differing from one another only with respect to material, thickness and size. Because the invention relates to sheets of different types, e.g., cards or even film aperture cards or flat film, the present disclosure will often speak on a general level concerning "sheets", and in terms of "cards" when referring to exemplary embodiments of the invention.
There exist a host of machines of varying types all performing the following operation. Of a plurality (e.g., M) different "masters" or "pictures", N copies of each single one of the M masters are to be produced. The number N is the same for each one of the M masters. Accordingly, one can speak of M groups (each group different) each consisting of N identical copies. These copies are to be so assembled as to form N "sets" of copies, each set consisting of M different copies, with the M different copies of each single set being arranged in the same sequence as the sequence in which the M groups of N identical copies each were received for compilation. The copies can for example be the individual pages of a catalog or book, and one "set" of copies can correspond to the complete catalog or book, or the like.
For the sake of clear understanding, the term "pictures" will sometimes be employed herein to refer to both the "masters" and the copies formed therefrom. Each book, each catalog, each card index, i.e., each "set" accordingly consists of a plurality of different "pictures". This terminology is of course most literally applicable when microfilm aperture cards or microfiches are involved.
Microfilm aperture cards are apertured cards having a viewing cut-out, in which a film image, e.g., from a technical periodical, is located. In certain practical applications, it may happen that each of these "pictures" (i.e., here constituted by microfilm aperture cards) is to be copied N times, and the copies then assembled to form N "sets", with the sets all consisting of the same number of copies, but all the copies within each individual set being different. These sets may, for example, be routed to different departments of a large organization.
Microfiches are flat films, usually of the size of a postcard. Each microfiche (i.e., "picture" using the terminology here employed) contains reduced-scale images of up to a hundred or more pages of text or illustrations, or the like. "Sets" of such microfiches are sent, for example, as catalog-updating supplements to hundreds of customers of a large organization.
To elucidate the basic type of problem to which the invention relates, a simple example will be set forth. Assume that cards of some type are involved. Five copies are to be made from each one of four different pictures A/B/C/D. The stacks of copies are constituted in the following way, with the number system employed starting from the end of each stack, for the sake of correspondence with the detailed description to follow. For the sake of brevity, the term "copy" or "copies" repeatedly used herein is abbreviated to CP.
______________________________________ CP-Arrangement in 4 Groups A B C D (M = 4) ______________________________________ A 5 B 5 C 5 D 5 A 4 B 4 C 4 D 4 with 5 identical cards #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 within A 3 B 3 C 3 D 3 each group (N = 5) A 2 B 2 C 2 D 2 A 1 B 1 C 1 D 1 ______________________________________
Thus, there are a total of 4 stacks, each consisting of five identical cards (20 cards in all). These are to be rearranged to form five sets (N=5) each consisting of four (M=4) different cards A, B, C, D. Thus, the following arrangement must be produced (to avoid confusion between the numbers utilized to identify copy number, and the numbers utilized to identify collating stations or bins, the latter numbers always appear in parentheses):
______________________________________ 5 sets (N = 5) in 5 stations (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) ______________________________________ D 1 D 2 D 3 D 4 D 5 each of the five sets including one card C 1 C 2 C 3 C 4 C 5 from each of the 4 different groups B 1 B 2 B 3 B 4 B 5 (M = 4) A 1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 ______________________________________
The conversion from the CP-arrangement of groups to the arrangement in sets, can be performed in one of the two following ways:
(a) The formation of one set from the individual letter stacks (the A, B, C, D stacks) of the CP arrangement of groups is performed in such a way that one removes the lowest cards A, B, C, D from the four CP-stacks one after the other and lays them in succession one atop the other such that A is located at the bottom of the thusly formed set and D at the top. In this way, the first complete set is formed. The same is done for the next-higher line "2" of the CP-arrangement tabulated above, and so forth, until all five sets have been formed. Thus, this manner of forming the sets involves removal of cards from the different stacks and "compiling" of the assembled cards to form an individual set, set by set. Machines which operate on this basis are typically referred to as "compiling machines" or "collators". (b) However, the same end result can be achieved by "distributing" the copies, or better said by "distributive sorting" of the copies, i.e., the cards of each CP-stack are distributed onto collecting stations or bins. Referring to the "CP-Arrangement" table above, one takes first the vertical A-stack and "sorts" the A-cards into 5 successively located stations of the set-forming set-up. The same is then done for the B-cards, for the C-cards, and for the D-cards, in turn, so that when finished the cards taken from the D-stack occupy the uppermost positions on the five thusly formed stacks, as indicated in the "5 sets" tabulation above. Machines which form the sets in question in this manner are typically designated "sorters", both in the English language and in German.
When, as in the illustrative example just given, only a few different "pictures" and only a few CP-stacks of pictures are involved, both set-forming procedures outlined above can be readily performed by hand or using fairly simple machines. If, for example, price lists, circulars, etc., are to be assembled into a limited number of sets, the "compiling" can be performed using a row of 10 supply bins or stacks, using a gripper which travels along the row of 10 bins and pulls from each one one copy, and then deposits the 10 copies onto a stacking table, to constitute one "set". With the next traverse of the gripper along the row of supply bins, the next complete set is formed and deposited, and so forth. If one is not using a "compiling" technique but instead a "distributive sorting" technique, then use is made of 10 collecting stations. First one CP-stack has its 10 copies distributed into the 10 stations; then this is done for the next CP-stack; and so forth.
Self-evidently, with both methods, fewer than ten "pictures" may be involved, e.g., seven different pricelist sheets. In that event, for the example just given, only seven of the ten supply bins would be employed for the first technique, and only seven of the ten collecting stations would be employed for the second technique.
Having defined what is meant by "collating" and by "sorting", it is noted that the present invention relates to machines of the "sorter" type. In particular, the invention relates to problems of highly flexible and versatile sorting operation, and to the expense conventionally involved when large numbers of copies and sets are involved. For example, if 100 sets are to be formed, a conventional "sorter" would require 100 collecting stations or collecting bins.